[Hattip: Steve Fagstein]
The CRTC sale documents for Bell Media’s Hamilton and St. Catharines FM radio stations are now public on the CRTC website.
102.9 CKLH-FM in Hamilton is part of the four station deal. 105.7 CHRE-FM, 97.7 CHTZ-FM, and 610 AM CKTB are also in the four-station deal.
Oakville’s family-owned Whiteoaks Communications/Golden Horseshoe Broadcasting is paying $22.5-million to purchase the stations.
The sale price includes the land holdings.
As Fagstein details on his website, between 1997 and 1999, the three St. Catharines stations sold for a total of $13.3-million (1997 to 1999 dollars).
CKLH-FM Studios are Now in Downtown Hamilton, Will Keep Format
102.9’s studios have moved from Upper Wentworth (beside Lime Ridge Mall) to Suite 1900 at 25 Main Street West in Downtown Hamilton.
Radio offices have returned to Downtown Hamilton.
The new studio, and seven-year lease for prime downtown office space, represent a significant investment by Whiteoaks Communications. They could’ve easily chosen to locate anywhere. The broadcast transmitter for CKLH is in Flamborough.
Local hosts Sunni Genesco, Matt Hayes, and Darrin Laidman have been retained.
[We’ll see what happens to Corus Radio in Hamilton. That company looks to be heading towards bankruptcy. If that happens 900 CHML, 95.3 CING-FM, and 107.9 CJXY-FM will be on the market.]
Whiteoaks Gets Transmission Locations and FM Stations
Whiteoaks writes in its CRTC submission that part of its interest in the stations is ensuring the family company gets on the FM dial to “have the opportunity to operate radio stations which will not be impacted by the potential removal of AM radio reception from electrically-powered automobiles.”
They will use HD-radio to rebroadcast their existing multicultural and Christian AM stations.
Land is an important part of the deal, they are acquiring CKTB’s AM towers.
“CJYE and CJMR’s transmitter site is located on Dundas Street in Oakville, just west of Sixteen Mile Creek. Its proximity to a steep ravine and twin three lane bridges for Dundas Street make this site very difficult for directional AM stations due to the resulting backscatter and reradiation. In addition, urban development is rapidly encroaching on the site. A new twin two lane bridge is being built on an expropriated portion of the transmitter land and residential and commercial development has begun to be built directly adjacent to the site. For these reasons Trafalgar broadcasting has, for years, been trying to relocate the transmitter site to a more suitable location. Thus far Trafalgar has not been able to secure the required agreements with the private and public stakeholders involved to find alternative transmitter sites. In the meantime, the existing complex dual frequency, six tower, DA-1 facilities have proven increasingly difficult and costly to maintain.”